LAXEY's land-based project has a production goal of 4,500 metric tonnes of salmon in 2025 and has set its sights on 27,000 metric tonnes by 2030.
LAXEY
Icelandic land-based salmon farming company LAXEY has announced the successful completion of a €6 million Equity Private Placement aimed at accelerating its ambitious growth strategy.
This fresh injection of capital will enable construction of the company’s second grow-out module, aiming for a production capacity of 4,500t HOG in 2025, the company said.
This latest financing round, which follows a separate €40 million private placement completed in April 2024, attracted investors including Farvatn Private Equity and Kontrari, two privately-owned Norwegian investment firms experienced in seafood investments.
LAXEY has confirmed that development on its land-based project is progressing as planned.
The company's hatchery facility has been operational since November 2023, producing its first two batches of smolt. By July, the hatchery will be fully commissioned, with a capacity of 4 million 100g smolt per year.
Meanwhile, construction of the grow-out site is on track, with the first grow-out tank completed in late June. The company intends to introduce the first smolts in autumn 2024.
LAXEY's grow-out facility, like Norway's Salmon Evolution and fellow Icelandic land-based salmon project GeoSalmo, will utilise hybrid flow-through technology.
The additional capital from this latest funding round, LAXEY says, will kick-start the construction of the second section, with the ultimate aim of building six grow-out tanks.
LAXEY construction site, pictured in July 2024, including the first completed grow-out tank.
Until early 2024, LAXEY was primarily funded by the Óskarsson family. With the recent completion of substantial private placements totalling €46 million, the company says it now has "a strong shareholder base combining strategic and financial strength to take the Company forward".
“Continued demand from prominent investors reflects the quality and hard work in Laxey. Along with the commencement of construction for Section 2, we believe these investors bring experience and additional competence to our project” said Lárus Ásgeirsson, chairman of the board of LAXEY.
“Now it is up to us to deliver on construction and farming. It is truly exciting to watch the daily progress of the project and with the first grow-out tanks being erected a few weeks ago we are on good track to deliver the project on time “
Arctic Securities acted as Sole Global Coordinator and Bookrunner in the private placement, with Mar Advisors acting as Financial Advisor to LAXEY.
In recent weeks, LAXEY has announced a number of strategic initiatives as its prepares for its land-based facility to become fully operational.
In May, the company announced it has appointed Rustan Lindquist as LAXEY's new Director of Aquaculture. Lindquist has already been working with the company as a consultant on technical design and plans, and will formally occupy his new role on 1 September.
In the same month, LAXEY also announced its partnership with Skretting on feed supply, and signed a contract with AKVA Group to design and install the RAS for its grow-out facility.
Skretting's parent company Nutreco was one of the main investors in LAXEY's previous private placement funding round completed in April 2024. The owner of Norwegian investment firm Kontrari, Frode Teigen, who was one of the key investors in LAXEY's July 2024 private placement round, is also on the board of directors of AKVA Group.
Earlier, in March, the company announced it was collaborating with Landsvirkjun, Iceland's National Power Company, on powering its facility with renewable energy.